Presto Chocolate Cake with Choc Sauce

 

This is one of my old posts getting re posted. Photograph's precedence over recipe??? ;p Food for thought.

For the chocoholics Nishant Khanna and Mahua and their neighbour Disha!!!

eggs-2
cocoa powder-1/2 cup
butter-1/2 cup softened (100 gm)
all purpose flour-2 cups
sourless plain yoghurt (curd)-1/2 cup
vanilla essence-1 tsp
soda bicarb (soda powder)-3/4 tsp
powdered sugar-2 cups
lukewarm water-1/2 cup

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. add all the ingredients in their order; mix well with your hands and bake till done. yes, you read right. it's just this much and believe me the cake will surpass you expectations. you don't have to mess your beater (personally i love hand-mixed batter). i never even followed the order but still it came out so good!

 
milk-1/2 cup
powdered sugar-1/2 cup
cornflour-1 tbsp
cocoa powder-1 tbsp
butter-1 tbsp
dash of instant coffee powder (i use nescafe).

Boil all of it together and shut off when it thickens after boiling. over the cake you got to pour it hot. you can serve it cold with muffins, either way.

Packing Bags

the Junkie book will remain closed for the coming quarter (May-June-July). If you scroll down a couple of posts you'll find one saying Am Back! And if you wonder sweet bunnies what's happening, well am setting a new paradigm for moving cities! We got to move to a new city and mind ya I still have some unpacked bags since I stepped in this house last July.

Now Jill, was it you who used the phrase "moving house like a warm Indian breeze"?...well, quite literally it's been happening with me! Whoever wrote the line "When was the last time you did something for the first time"? Am by default doing something new, even if it is something as banal as closing one door and entering a new house through another!

There's always excitement in fresh pastures. But at times (or frankly many a time) am exhausted scrambling to pick up my dreams on my way only to see them quickly and forcefully tossed wayside...and am tired of bending my back trying to pick them up again. Lemme see how life pans out for me. For the moment, let's live today.

Dear Me

I know whoever comes in here is in a great hurry to get to the next blog. Many a time as much as we want to read each blog post word to word we simply cannot because we're hard-pressed for time 24x7. But I would request you to slow down here.

 This is a video from Mike Schmid. He's a singer, songwriter, and keyboard player for Miley Cyrus. This my post comes with no strings attached. I chanced on Mike in one of my surfing sessions; liked his blog, his voice and songs. He was more than happy to  let me share the video in my space. 

I like his rich soulful voice and pleasant persona. The lyrics of the song are given below.

And Mike, for you to know, you pretty much resemble a Bollywood actor, Ranvir Shorey!!! ;p

 writes about Dear Me: For anyone who’s ever gone through hard times alone, this is for you. An acoustic version of one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.

Dear me, don't rely on what you see

All the blacks and whites dissolve into the gray

Dear me, there are monsters in the trees

And you won't notice them until they're in the way

And you should be ready to fight them down

Cause no one will be there to help you out

And no one will see when you begin to doubt

And you hide

Hide

Hide away

Dear me, it seems you'll lose along the way

Simple truths you found so comforting before

Dear me, all the love you thought was free

It'll cost much more than what you can afford

And you won't be ready, you'll fight them down

And no one will be there to pull you out

And when nothing is left, you forget what it's about

And you hide

Hide

Hide away

So I'm writing you this letter

To warn you now

Before you get your hopes up

Before they fall back down

You don't have to worry

And you don't need to

Hide

Hide

Hide away

Dear me, you should know that you can't see

Just how good that it will be in the end

Dainty Pink Pudding

Of late I've not been having much to say. So well, this is a pudding. It's dainty and it's pink! It's one of my dessert darlings - neither too sweet nor too heavy - a gentle mouth amuser.

Fresh strawberries-25 nos (should bring 11/2 cup pulp)
Granulated sugar-3/4 cup
Gelatin-11/2 tbsp
Egg white-2
Whipping cream-11/4 cup
Cold water-1/4 cup

Soak gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Once it's properly soaked add 1/4 cup boiling water to it and melt the gelatin. Mash strawberry in a bowl; mix it with the sugar; and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Add gelatin to the strawberry-sugar and blend well with a spatula and refrigerate for a short while. Take it out and add the whipping cream and mix well again. Beat the egg white in a separate glass bowl (make sure it's completely dry; otherwise stiff peaks won't form) till stiff peaks form and fold in atop the entire mix. Keep it 3 hours in the refrigerator or freeze it for 1/2 hour.

Take it out and enjoy the dainty morsels.

I mix in the egg white too and do not leave it atop. So my pudding is a gloppy mass and not the slice-able gelatin pudding.


Source: Lakshmi Nair

Nutella Banana Muffins

A keeper this one.

(Adapted from sweetpeaskitchen.com.)

All-purpose flour--2 cups
Sugar (powdered)--11/4 cups
Baking soda--3/4 tsp
Mashed banana-11/2 cups
Plain curd--1/4 cup
Eggs (large)--2, beaten lightly
Butter (salted)--6 tbsp, melted and cooled
Vanilla extract--1 tsp
Walnuts (toasted and coarsely chopped)--1/4 cup
Nutella--1/2 cup

Strain flour and baking soda together. Combine it with sugar in a large bowl. Keep aside.
Mix mashed bananas, butter, curd, eggs and vanilla essence in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon.
Fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to form a chunky mass. Fold in the walnuts.
Drop the batter into the prepared muffin trays in equal quantities and place one-two teaspoons of nutella on each (I put two tsps; but if you want a more pronounced taste of the banana keep it at one tsp.). Swirl with a toothpick.
Bake for about 25 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Enjoy....to begin with these photos ;p

Surrogate Valentine

Trophy!!!

Dear Golf

I envy you. You’ve got the best partner possible. He loses his marbles only over you. Many a night in the inky darkness, my fretful soul has craved a partner like him. He’s so dedicated and responsible. He wakes up in the wee hours (!!), reads the Bible you gifted him (Tiger Woods book) and promptly kits out to meet you in a crazy frisson of excitement.

And oh he looks so sexy in his dating togs. I’ve dilated my pupils off and gone blind at the etched out figure he has.

He’s so cool-headed even in the stickiest situation. And ever so quick to love every bit of you I know: the massive fecund green course where a par and handicaps are forever flung for record, tee, driver….

And above all he’s so clever and sharp. So clever that he won that trophy for you!!! I love to deconstruct that ultimate symbol of your love. But nope. It sits there getting spiffier by the minute only to gimme a complex.

I confess. I’ve tried diabolic plans for some smart cradle-snatching. I used to go as green as the ground you tread whenever I saw him chasing you passionately through all dimensions. I’ve tried coquetry, squishing myself in his line of vision, clever repartee, good food, and even some optimum SILK “ulaalaa” singing. I’ve tried it all to be his arm candy. But to no avail. He’s so damn loyal. Once I physically tried to wrench him away from you. He reacted none the less like a cornered hellcat!

I give up. He’s all yours. He’s everything a woman desires; but he belongs to you dear Golf. No smooth talking; just plain actions. That’s him. Your Thomas.

Regards

A torn, smitten and trying to be OK

thomA

Congratulations Thomas for winning this GSL sponsored trophy and the rolling trophy in the Golf Tournament, Goa 2012!!

Happy Valentines!

Kothu Porotta is a delicacy popular in all parts of Kerala and beyond because of its intelligent combination of flavours. Malabar paratha (basically made from all-purpose flour batter) is its most important ingredient. It’s simple, delicious and crunchy…couldn’t be better!

Malabar  paratha (frozen)—4-5 (small size)

Boiled chicken de-boned and shredded—1 cup

Onions—2 big or 3 medium
Ginger and garlic paste--1 tsp each

Tomato—1 big

Green chillies—3

Curry leaves

Chicken masala (any)—1/4 tsp

Black pepper powder—1 tsp

Egg--1

Ghee to fry

Salt to taste

Fry the frozen parathas as per the instructions on the cover. When slightly cool cut them in random size and blitz in grinder to make them smaller. Blitz just twice. They should not be powdered. Take 1 ½ to 2 tbsp ghee in a thick bottomed pan; heat the ghee and sauté the paratha pieces for five mins on medium flame. Do not let them turn too crispy. Remove from flame and keep aside. Chop the onions, tomato and green chillies and curry leaves small. Shred the chicken pieces just once in the grinder. Scramble the egg with a little salt and pepper powder and keep aside. Heat one more tbsp ghee (or more as you require) in the pan. Saute the onion, green chillies and curry leaves till the onions turn transluscent (for about ten mins max). Fry the ginger garlic paste till the raw smell goes. Add the chopped tomato and fry again for five min. Add the masala and black pepper powder and fry for five more mins. Toss in the chicken pieces. Stir for two mins and bring in the paratha. Add salt to taste and the scrambled egg too. Stir the entire lot. Serve hot. It tastes best when it's hot.

Custard Cake and Pink Frosting

There isn't any pink frolic behind this cake and teddy bear and the pink frosting because neither is Aby fond of cakes nor is pink her favourite colour. I've seen her opting for blue oftener! But it was her birthday and we had to remind her that pink is the girl colour ;p and had to bake a cake. I thought of pottering with my grossly handicapped frosting skills. The taste that lingers in my mouth is the rose flavored butter frosting couched in the custard cake; though I remember getting good reviews for the cake alone too.

Custard Cake

All purpose flour/maida-2 cups
Powdered sugar-1 1/4-1 1/2 cups
Milk-1 1/4 cup
Vanilla custard powder-1 tbsp heaped
Eggs-4
Baking powder-1 tsp
Butter-250 gm
Granulated sugar-1 1/2 tbsp
Vanilla essence-1 tsp

Dissolve custard powder in 1/4 cup milk. In a thick bottomed pan boil the custard mix in the rest of the milk adding 1 1/2 tbsp sugar. Once it boils turn it off and set aside to cool. Sieve the flour and baking powder together twice. Keep aside. Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat. Add vanilla essence. Pour the cooled custard mix into this. Stir well and add the flour in small portions stirring in between. Stir for a consistent mixture. Pour in the cake tin and bake at 180 C for 45-50 min. (Adapted from Lakshmi Nair's collection of recipes.)

Frosting was done with a cup icing/powdered sugar and half a cup butter. Cream the butter until soft. Gradually beat in the sugar adding some hot water and drops of rose essence (this flavour makes it a superb combo) till you get a smooth spreading consistency.

The only snicker I had for this cake was the measly 1 tbsp custard powder to be used. Something like half a cup would have exhausted my long-stocked custard powder!

And folks Aby turns five coming April. So yes you guessed it right! This was prepared last year....Time flies!!! ;p